BROCKTON – A long trip down a hard road put George Travis on this stage, this day.

Travis, 20, will make Brockton High School history today when he becomes the first student with special needs to deliver the student address during the high school’s commencement ceremony.

As he peered from the stage out at the rows of empty white lawn chairs and bleachers during Friday’s rehearsal at Marciano Stadium, he soaked in the enormity of what he says will be a defining moment in his life.

“I am excited. This is like a dream come true for me,” Travis said, beaming as he clutched the notes of his typed speech.

“I am excited for him,” said his aunt, Georgette Travis, 49, who raised her nephew since he was six months old.

“It will give kids like him a chance to know that just because they have special needs, they are all the same.”

Under her care, she said, she has watched her nephew overcome a host of health and behavioral issues over the years.

He came to her when his mother, an overwhelmed teenager who couldn’t handle the responsibilities of motherhood, dropped him off, she said. He’s been with her ever since, she said.

Born with fetal alcohol syndrome, George Travis showed signs of slow cognitive development early on, his aunt said.

Together, they dealt with his uncontrollable temper, several hospitalizations and a slew of medications that she said worsened his behavior.

To make matters worse, he said, he was bullied mercilessly by classmates and, at one point, the mistreatment had gotten so bad that he “wanted to give up on life.”

“There were days I didn’t think I would survive this journey with him,” said Georgette Travis, the head staff assistant at Mather Elementary School, in Dorchester. “But to be here with him now, I thank God.”

Eventually, she weaned him off of the medications; his behavior improved. He was transferred to then-East Junior High where, she said, he began to excel.

Once in high school, he enrolled in the school’s special education program, Life Skills, where he met friends he now calls his “brothers for life.”

He also became a cook in the school’s Fine Arts Cafe, which he said helped prepare him for his dream job of being a chef.

He will attend the Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment program, or ICE, at Bridgewater State University, in the fall to study public speaking.

By all accounts, Travis may not have seemed an obvious choice to deliver the student address, but principal Sharon Wolder said he is deserving after he won the honor over 15 other seniors.

Page 2 of 2 - “He earned this honor,” she said. “He went out and applied and he was the chosen one.”

His speech was as powerful and attention-getting for its message – believe in yourself despite obstacles – as it was for its delivery, said English teacher Kevin Haughey, who chaired the selection committee that chose Travis.

“George’s speech was a little more specific and unique as far as his struggles and how everyone can relate to it,” he said.

“It wasn’t forced. It was his own voice.”

What also resonated with panel members, he continued, was Travis’ brutal honesty about his personal struggles and how he overcame them, which Haughey labeled inspirational.

“His message to his audience was, ‘If I can do this so can you. There are no excuses,’ ” Haughey said. “That’s a fantastic message for a senior class as they go off to college, workforce or the military.”

Diane Davis, special education department head, said that his success is shared by many.

“Something that we’re working on as a department at the high school, is there’s no shame in having a disability,” she said.

She also noted that some people expressed concern about exploiting a student with a disability, an argument Haughey quashed vehemently.

“In the end, (the speech) won on its merits. He won based on the content of his speech,” he said.

Dozens of relatives from as far as Alabama have traveled to support Travis as he graduates. His proud aunt will host a celebratory BBQ in his honor at her Brockton home, she said.

To other caregivers, she advises: “It’s rough when they are little, but don’t give up the fight.”